Tuesday, May 24, 2011

My Idea of Heaven: Place, Part II


My Idea of Heaven, 8x8" ©2011 K. Hambric

I once saw a photograph of an intersection in Seattle.  On each corner was a coffee shop.  This is my idea of heaven.  Imagine the smell.  Fragrant of memory and of promise.  A brew of stories.  Caffeine!


I love cities.  Most of my vacations are centered around cities. 

I love maps of cities.  I used to draw fantasy city maps.  Others drew maps of fantasy lands (after they had read the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, of course).  As a child I would create city maps out of just about anything:  paper and pencils, dominos, Tinker Toys, clothes pins, game pieces, empty cartons, building blocks, and probably 200 other items. 

My goal was to become a city planner.  I wanted to design cities from the bottom up.  From scratch.  All new.  Later I realized that was impossible.  Like plants and people, cities grow.  From towns.  From villages.  From a settlement of a handful of houses, a blacksmith shop and a general store (and/or a saloon).  Out and up.  Neighborhoods form, grow, and often, eventually die.

While I love to be in a city with a map, most of the time I have to be content at home with a map.  What do I do with surplus computer time?  Head to GoogleMaps.  Zoom in.  Zoom out.  Where do I think the rich people live?  Could those large masses in the central city be a convention center (replacing what was thought to be a declining neighborhood)?  Does that mass of restaurant, coffee, and shopping icons indicate a vibrant urban node, perhaps gentrified?

. . . I can smell the coffee now. . 

Visit this piece on Etsy.

4 comments:

Dr. Monkey said...

I too love maps and cities! I appreciate the country side but I always want to live in the city.

Rebeca Trevino said...

found your blog through seth apter's blog. enjoyed looking at your work. do you work mostly on paper or fiber? nice work.

Chris said...

I like cities, too. I am going to NYC this weekend! I wonder where my map is?

Sharmon Davidson said...

I'm a map fanatic myself, Kim, but cities- not so much. This is a fabulous piece!